Lovely Companion
by Teddystock
Summary: As a slave, Eva is no stranger to being bought and sold off to others. But after being set free by one certain stranger, she finds herself aboard the large vessel, a ship, owned by the one and only infamous Captain Hook. CH x OC
1. The Captain is Known

**Disclaimer:** Once Upon a Time does not belong to me nor do the characters. However, I do own any original characters (OC's) that come along in this story.**  
**

* * *

**The Captain is Known**

"Any bids for this one?" A relatively short and stubby man asked loudly, gruffly throwing aside a girl before him to the cold wooden platform. She had long brunette hair that fell almost down to her waist, light green eyes, and was going to be sold off to a strange to work for. Of course, it was never her decision to own this particular job because the job _had_ found her.

"Two-hundred fifty!"

_If I'm fortunate, maybe I will get sold this time._

"Four-hundred!"

"I'll bid seven-hundred!" Shouted an individual in the audience.

"Seven-hundred for the beautiful _lady_," The auctioneer spat out. "How pleasant! Most would only go to around one-hundred. Would anyone else like to make a bid on this woman?"

"No? Come on now!"

"I'll bid for this one." The sudden rough voice came from a man, and the audience around made room for him to step forward; it was almost clear that fear seemed to emit out of the stranger though everyone in the town were practically strangers to each other as well. The female slave stared at the potential buyer in front of her. He wore a black outer layer with his chest partially showing out. The man's one hand was covered with a leather glove and the other was a somewhat thin piece of metal curved, a hook. She watched as the strange came closer. _Could he possibly be?...No, he can't._

"What are ya offering?" said the auctioneer.

"How much do you want?"

"The _limit_ is ten-thousand plegs. You can't exceed that out."

"Eleven-thousand it is then. Ten for her and the rest for you to keep." The man said firmly, dropping a small pouch of gold coins into the seller's hand. The audience marveled at the expense with greedy eyes. _Why would someone spend that much on a mere slave?  
_

"She's all yours!" The merchant stated happily, his eyes focused on the money in front of him, and his hands digging into the coins like sea water._  
_

"W-where are we going?" The girl questioned as she was hurriedly pulled by her buyer, whose hand was gripped tightly onto her delicate wrist. She focused her eyes onto his hook, pondering in her mind. Back in her hometown, there were rumors of a certain hooked man around the area. Many said that he was a devious traveler. Some said that he was a kind hearted gentleman. _What did the rumors say his name was again? Crook?  
_

"To my home. But first," He pushed her lightly against a stoned wall, leaving little space between them for a brief moment before continuing his walk. "What is your name?"_  
_

"My name is Eva."

"And I am James. You are free to go as you please now."

"No, I want to repay you."

"If you insist, follow me. We're close to my home."

They made their way cross the crowd streets of the town, and to a sandy area near the sea. There, Eva could see it—a large ship floating atop the moving water that was seemingly shining from the sun. _His home is a ship!_

Soon, Eva found herself standing on the rocking ship._  
_

"Aye, who is this?" Asked a curious crew member. The man was at average height and had several missing teeth as he attempted to give her a wry smile. However, his appearance was nothing compared to the rest of the crew that closely resembled a large band of buccaneers, which they probably were._  
_

"Crew, this is Eve. Why don't one of you show her around a bit? I'll be in my cabin if anyone needs me."

A few grunts and snorts were heard before everyone returned to their usual work on the ship. Eva was left standing in the middle of it all until a fairly short man came before her wearing a red bandana around his forehead and a grim smile upon his face.

"I'm Dock," He said happily. _What an interesting name._ "I'll gladly show you around the ship. First, we'll start off here on the ship's deck and..." His voice and any other distraction faded away as Eva came to a startling realization.

_She had just volunteered to stay as a helper for a man who lived on a ship.  
_

The idea would've have been nice, but it was Captain Hook's ship. His ship. And she had to repay him for damn's sake. Freedom was at least a taste too sweet to not be fully grateful for._  
_

"This is James' ship?!"

Dock raised his right eyebrow at her quizzically.

"James? Cube, do we have a James on board?" Dock yelled over to a fellow member.

"James, what? Dammit, Dock, nobody named James is on board. Maybe Cap'n knows a James!"

"Mm, you should ask Captain Hook about it! He knows almost everything about the sea." Dock stalked away into the ship's storage room, while whistling a strange tune into the air.

_So the 'James' from earlier isn't existing? Unless his real name is really James..._ For all Eva could know, James could be some sort of fake name that the captain used for his traveling.

"I'm on a ship with Captain Hook."

_Terrific._

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry about the ridiculously short length of this story so far, but I just HAD to put down a Once Upon a Time Captain Hook x OC story. I know that he hasn't even been introduced yet nor has his history been explained, but I'm testing this idea out. Also, there are already pictures of Captain Hook online and he looks great. Is anyone else super excited for his appearance in Once Upon a Time later on?

Length will defiantly be longer in the second chapter by the way.

Leave a review. I'd love to read it.


	2. First Day on Sea

**Disclaimer:** Once Upon a Time does not belong to me nor do the characters. However, I do own any original characters (OC's) that come along in this story.

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"It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light."  
-Taylor Benson

**First Day on Sea**

The sparkling blue water was a wondrous sight from aboard the ship. Eva leaned against the railing gently; the ocean breeze blew against her hair and face as she stared at the small towns a distance away. Dock, his friend Cube, and the others were working around the large ship. The captain, however, was still in his cabin - suspiciously, too, it almost seemed. The crew didn't care much about the given topic though_, _saying that it was _supposedly_ his normal behavior. But normal behavior, was certainly _not_ that.

"Hey, Dock, you got that feelin' again?" said one of the crew members, Brim, whom Eva met earlier courtesy of Dock.

"You mean that happy one? I feel that all the time..." Dock sighed contently. He was currently repairing a broken piece in the ship's mast. Brim and Cube were on the deck examining the tattered sails. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew were doing their own jobs leaving Eva to wander around the entire vessel, careful not to interrupt the captain and whatever he was doing.

"No," Brim shouted impatiently. "Feelin' like captain's up to his no goods again." The sturdy man carried a dangle of tight rope around his right shoulder.

Dock paused his work. "Captain Hook wouldn't do that. His past should stay in the past, Brim."

Without warning, the captain himself emerged out of his private quarters and stepped onto the dark wooden panels of the floor. His aged black boots sounded as he walked. It was quite easy to recognize him as the head of the ship, but one had to be a fool to not notice the captain's grim expression on his face, although all the serious, carefully placed emotions were quickly gone as soon as Hook glanced over to Eva; his face expressed an endearing smile at her before he directed his attention to the staff aboard the large vessel.

"Everyone," He began. "Set sail for the Queen's castle. We'll be paying her another _visit_." The last line had a sense of bitterness to it. _But who is the Queen that he mentioned about?_

"Who is the Queen?"

The entire crew stood in shock. Captain Hook furrowed his eyebrows in question, relaxing only enough to answer her question calmly. "The Queen is the cause of all the misery within these lands. " _Fantastic answer._

"Then, how do we manage to visit her?"

"My dear, " He said, chuckling while at it. "There are many ways to visit someone. Ours just happens to be the best."

The tall towers of a castle soon came into view. Enormous trees surrounded the domain, illuminating the dark castle's sinister aura even more. Beside the main doors in the front, there were glass windows spread around the exterior trimmed with a peculiar black kind of crystal. The seemingly endless stairway edged in a curve around the castle itself, but the main attraction was yet to come. _I can't imagine who would want to live in a place like this - with a lucid view of the lands too._

"Anchor's down, Cap'n," Cube said, giving Hook a mixture of a wave and possible salute. "Shall we go in?"

"By all means. Her majesty would certainly not mind our sudden intrusion, would she now?"

Only Eva, Captain, Dock, and Cube headed down off of the ship carefully, and in the direction of the Queen's castle. The rest of the crew stayed behind to keep the ship in hand. The four strolled softly on the dirt path. Then, before them, were two large doors. Both had the letter 'R' engraved into them. Whatever they meant was probably something significant in a unique way.

"Regina." The Captain said sternly, and the doors began to open, letting loose a loud creak. Everyone took a step forward, eventually meeting the beautiful face of the Queen, herself. Her dark hair was twisted up into a complicated hairstyle, adorned by tiny sparkling stones and the dress she wore was rather...fat. But it still didn't bring any sense of ease to the obscure smile upon her face. One could only ponder in their mind questioningly if the woman had actually expected them to arrive at her fine castle. _A fine castle, indeed._

"Captain Hook, I see you have acquired a new companion with you," She flicked her eyes onto Eva. "Lovely."

"You know why I'm here."

"On the contrary, Hook. No, I do not. Perhaps you are here to see me, I presume." The Queen answered, walking up to him. The sound of her heels clicked as she walked on the tile floor. The smile, however, was still plastered onto her face. It matched exquisitely with her brilliant features.

"Please, I am fully aware that you still remember our deal from earlier — about the boy?" Captain Hook leaned against a pillar within the room, looking around distastefully at the interior design.

The Queen paled before returning to her previous state.

"I'll speak to you about Peter later. Instead, why don't you introduce me to your fellow friend? I don't recall her being here in our last visit..." She waltzed casually around the floor, eying Eva warily. Fortunately though, Cube was able to give her a look, to which the woman replied back with a smile on her face - a fake one at least.

"Her name," Hook began. "is Eva. And I'd prefer you to keep her out of this."

Dock shifted uncomfortably next to Cube; his face dazed in confusion and worry. He whisper tentatively into his friend's ear, attempting to back away further from the malignant ruler in front of him. "She's kind of scary, don't you think?" _Scary isn't the correct word, gruesome is more like it._

"We're not here to look at her! The sooner Captain's done, the sooner we leave." Cube replied sharply, forcibly pushing Dock forward even closer to the woman he was trying to get _away_from.

"Protective, are we? I must admit Captain, it is quite interesting to see you so attached to this little comrade of yours. Have you softened already? A shame, really. You don't want the same thing happening to poor, poor Eva like it did to that other girl, do you? Now what was her name again...Wanda? Wendy? I'd suggest you be more careful on what you do Captain, or else you'll find yourself in that same repeating cycle of never-ending loops."

"What about Daniel, then?'' Regina frowned, the sudden line capturing her utmost attention.

"Leave."

"You crossed the line, Regina." The Captain said; his face lost of all potential emotions he felt at the time.

"Oh, but you're wrong, Hook. I crossed that line a long time ago."

The sudden disruption of Brim barging into the room freed the present tension, causing Captain Hook to turn around with Regina staring at the unexpected guest through the corners of her dark eyes. Everyone stared at the crew-member in queer question, awaiting to what the intruder had to say. Yet Eva could tell by the unhappy expression on Brim's face that things were not going well back on the ship. _What could have possibly happened while we were gone? A sea monster?_ Sea monsters though weren't very likely around the area, especially not at that one particular place where the ship was. Bandits, however, were quite common among the lands. Nevertheless, then there was still the idea that Eva was on a ship with _pirates - _skilled pirates at that. Instead, the bandits or any other robbers may as well be the victims.

"Rumpelstiltskin is here!"

_Even worse._

After gasping - no - yelling, Brim bent down to his knees for extra support as well as coughing along the way. In a moment, Dock and Cube were beside him trying to help the poor man catch his vanished breath.

"It appears that you have matters to attend to," Regina finally said, returning to her normal self; the tainted smile from before making its reappearance again.

"Don't let me keep you from going."

Captain Hook swiveled his eyes over to the Queen for a moment. His features darkened slightly until he reinstated himself, gesturing for Eva to follow him out of the corrupted fortress. Somehow, the other three were already gone, assumed to be waiting for the pair outside of the castle. He couldn't blame them though, the domain was enough to give anyone the chills.

"We'll continue with this later." He spoke.

"And that we shall." The ruler said, repositioning herself so that she was nearby Eva who was skeptical about the sudden act. She backed away a bit, pushing the heavy door behind her and letting the bright sunshine hit the room.

"Have fun." Regina asserted.

"And why do you say that?" Eva questioned. She was still partially inside the castle, wondering about what the Queen meant by her confusing statement. Captain Hook stood outside on the steps, urging her hurriedly to finish whatever she was doing as soon as possible.

The Evil Queen bent over enough to stare at Eva face to face. The same signature smile that she had come to grown used to was smacked right on her yet the current situation was far from amusing. Quietly, the Queen began to whisper into her ear. "Because when you're with him, you won't last for too long." And the doors shut ostensibly in front of her.

"Hey, Eva! C'mon, we still have the beast to tend to." Brim called. _Beast, as in Rumpelstiltskin?_

"Eva," Captain Hook interrupted. "Did she something to you? You can tell me, you know." He gently spun her around to face him, both of his strong hands were set on her shoulders putting her in place.

"No. I'm fine." She answered, trying to sound confident - and she failed _miserably_ at it. Eva could sense that Hook seemed to noticed the small detail in her voice as he searched her eyes looking for anymore clues, but he didn't comment about it. It was a subject to be resolved later.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Eva replied with a pleasant smile on her lips. The short conversation was becoming quite insinuating, and she had wanted it to end soon. Besides, there was a 'beast' on the ship just waiting to be seen.

* * *

"Captain Hook," Rumpelstiltskin bounced happily, much to the annoyance of the other crew-members who were there to make sure that the unexpected visitor didn't break anything _fragile_. Rumpelstiltskin rambled deliberately up to the Captain. His trinkets jingled as he walked in jolly. "and his new companion, I take it?"

Eva grimaced at the account. _Really, it seems like I've become a title now, 'companion' —what have you._

"You take it correctly," The Captain replied, relaxed. "Why are you here, Rumpelstiltskin?"

"I can't visit anyone these days without them having to ask the same question over and over again." The notorious being giggled. He bounced over to Eva in a springy action. Half of the entire deck gazed at him suspiciously, with the exception of Dock who was reminiscing with his eyes closed. Annoyed, Brim elbowed him in the stomach bringing the fellow back to reality. He whispered something inaudible to Dock. Eva could've sworn it sounded like 'Wake up'.

"If I'm not mistaken, dearie, your name should be Eva. Am I correct?" Rumpelstiltskin asked, taking a small strand of her hair and rubbing it in between his thumb and index finger.

"Yes, you are. How did you know about my name?" Eva asked, moving toward him, her voice was full of curiosity.

"I know everything and everyone, dearie..." Rumpelstiltskin mumbled in a low tone, trailing off. "You remind me of Belle." He turned his head wistfully away from her, wavy hair covered part of his face so that Eva couldn't see his features distinctly enough. In a short moment though, he recovered quickly from his blunt recollection, grinning cheerfully back at the Captain.

"What_—_"

"I should probably take a leave now!" He said, never giving Eva the chance to finish her sentence.

"Do so then." Hook said, entering the conversation for the second time. He fiddled with the black coat of his attire with disinterest. _The Captain's defiantly a help now. _She thought bitterly as she stared at him.

Honest to what he said, Rumpelstiltskin disappeared in a matter of minutes off of the ship. The crew looked around bewildered, trying to find any leftover trace of the abominable merchant. However, there was none. But still, the question, along with many other questions, lingered in Eva's mind - why had Rumpelstiltskin come to the ship? Did Captain Hook have anything to do with this? She didn't know, but she would hopefully find out sooner or later. Sighing, Eva took a seat on a thick cargo crate filled with who knows what. There was a time and place for everything, but her mind needed some rest. She closed her eyes and listened to the soothing sound of the ocean.

Too bad the peace didn't last for long. Eva opened her eyes, wincing at the light for a brief moment.

"Where are we going now?"

Dock took the opportunity to answer her gladly. "We're going to visit that village over there. The Captain wants to do some business with the others before we head off again." He pointed to the location with his finger. Surprisingly, the place didn't seem so far away and the ship neared the beach in an instant. The racket of the anchor dropping into the sea with a splash was accompanied by birds chirping away as they flew in the air. The vessel parked crookedly on the gritty beach-like area, and half of the full crew, including Captain Hook, climbed down from the ship. Eva followed shortly after, careful not to injure herself.

"You all can run amongst yourselves within the town. I'll be inside the bar over there temporarily." The Captain later vanished into a large house, and the door closed softly behind him.

"Hey Eva, come join me and Cube," Dock expressed, delighted with nothing or no one in particular. "It's getting dark soon. We're going to get some dinner. Brim, Snob, and the others are looking for souvenirs."

What Dock said was true. Nightfall was quickly approaching, and several villagers were beginning to lit their lanterns in preparation for the cold evening. Eva walked closely behind Dock. He was apparently humming a tune of a song she had heard once or twice in her life, but Eva just couldn't put her finger on the song's name. _That tune...It sounds so familiar! Where have I heard it before?_

"Over here." Cube called. He was waving frantically at the pair.

Eva and Dock headed toward his direction, entering the medium-sized house Cube was standing near. But in fact, the home was actually a small restaurant. Customers were all over the place seated at picnic tables. Waiters and waitresses walked up and down the isles, carrying plates of savory food and drinks of variety. Eva was seated to a table in the corner with Dock and Cube on the opposite side of her. Two candles were placed on the piece of furniture, and they gave off a crispy sweet scent, much like the aroma of maple syrup. Soon, a tall blond woman came around the side of the kitchen to them waiting to take their order.

"Welcome to our restaurant. What would you like to eat?"

Cube looked up at the waitress confidently. "I'll take a leg of chicken, beans, and a glass of water."

"I'll take a cup of tea and a loaf of bread." It didn't matter what she said. Eva was basically starving from hunger after the visit to the Queen and the unexpected guest of Rumpelstiltskin. A meal would be the perfect thing to rejuvenate from.

"And I'll have some mushroom soup." Dock stated happily. Cube, meanwhile, was utterly disgusted by his behavior. He turned his head to the right to stare at a couple sitting next to them while Dock looked out the window, playing with his grey hat.

"You order will be out soon." The waitress smiled at them, and left to go attend to another table.

"Can I ask you something," Eva looked over to Cube. He nodded his head in response. "That girl, Wendy. The Queen talked about her in the castle today. Who is she?"

"I can't tell you much about her, Eva. No one on the ship knows who she is or _was_ besides the Captain. The strange is that Captain Hook never talks about a Wendy. It was probably a long time ago before the crew was formed. And I can't guarantee Cap'n would tell you about her either. He's a man who prefers to keep to himself especially about his past, but everyone's like that nowadays, Eva. The Evil Queen has damaged all in this land."

Before Eva could respond, the waitress from before came back over to give them their food.

"You can leave the payment here, Cube." The woman said gently, leaving to go to another part of the restaurant.

"You know her?"

"We come here all the time." Cube answered and took a large bite of his chicken leg. Dock ate sensibly, taking small spoonfuls of his mushroom soup. It was amazing on how the two differed, but they were so close to each other in general.

Eva stared deeply into her mug of hot tea, the steam hitting her face as she debated with herself on when to actually drink the delectable thing. She played with her silver spoon utensil, swirling it around the ceramic glass. Finally, Eva wrapped both of her hands around the mug, bringing it to her lips. The warm liquid quenched her growing thirst, but the need for food didn't diminish any further. She took her fresh loaf of bread and broke a satisfying piece of it, tossing the chunk into her mouth daringly. _Delicious!_

"You seem hungry." Cube commented, raising his thick eyebrows in surprise.

"I haven't eaten anything so _luxurious_ as this during my slave years."

Dock and Cube stopped their vigorous eating, twisting their heads aside to look at each other and then to Eva. She noticed the abnormal feeling of the situation and paused her eating as well, returning to her endless mug-staring.

"Captain Hook bought you?" Dock asked lightly.

"Freed is a better term for it. Why does this bother you two so much?"

"It's because Captain Hook never does something," Cube said, tensing. "without having a reason for doing it."

* * *

**Author's Note:** At last, the chapter is done. I hope many of you enjoyed this one and just in case some readers are confused, the story still unfolding and will continue to do so in the following chapters after. Parts of the story may seem strange along the way, but no worries - I'm hoping to explain important details as Lovely Companion develops. Until then, leave a review.

I can't believe the amount of feedback I got last time I wrote an author's note, and I am super happy about it. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, alerted, and favorited this story. It truly means a lot to me, and I would sincerely appreciate it if some of the people who alerted left me a review.

As always though, I hope you all have a nice day.

**Special thanks to blackopalz21 for being my beta**

**Bamb**: I read about that somewhere online! I'm giving Hook the name 'James' because no one is aware of his real name, which as you said, is Killian. This, is planned to be sorted out in future chapters. ;)

**SAOfan: **Saccharine will defiantly not be abandoned! You have my word on it. The reason I started this new story is because I had this idea one day and I had the urge to write a story about it.

**Clare: **Bonjour, Clare. Désolé vous pouvez me faire confondre avec quelqu'un d'autre. En fait, je ne parle pas français du tout, mais je vous remercie de votre beau compliment à mon histoire. Cette réponse a été traduit à partir d'un bon ami à moi donc je apolgise si c'est difficile à lire. Merci pour examen :)


	3. Under The Mask

**Disclaimer:** Once Upon a Time does not belong to me nor do the characters. However, I do own any original characters (OC's) that come along in this story.

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"Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. "  
-Edna St. Vincent Millay

**Under The Mask**

"So you came!" Rumpelstiltskin cheered. "And right on time too." He jumped up from the bench, staring and smiling intently at the pirate before him.

Captain Hook grimaced at the sickly excited tone of the Dark One, remembering how easily Rumpelstiltskin's mood could be affected. "I want to know where the boy is being held at, Rumpelstiltskin. The Queen refuses to reveal anything."

"You're going to have to do better than that, dearie." The gloomy man rumbled in response at him. "One thing at a time. First, the boy isn't with Regina. The boy is still stuck in Neverland."

The Captain paused before answering. "Where at?"

"I don't know. The trail ends there, Cap'n! There's nothing I can do for you anymore." He toyed with the small lantern set on the table, lifting it up twice and then placing it back down again. A wide grin broke on his face as the being finally directed himself back at the Captain.

"Hm...I may have one thing that can help you. Are you willing to pay the price for it?" The pirate before him reached into his coat for payment until he was stopped by Rumpel's slim finger going back and forth at his face.

The Dark One nodded his head with disinterest. "No, no, no. I don't want payment. I want a favor."

"What favor do you want?"

The cruel being looked away with a cautious look buried deep in his eyes; the twinkle had long faded over the years and was replaced by a stubborn coldness. Captain Hook gripped his wine cup firmly, waiting for an answer. "Tell you what," He finally said, "I go home and think about it while you think about trading me that girl, Eva. She'd be a useful piece to my collection, wouldn't she now?"

_'Useful in what way'_, Hook thought to himself. The _broken_ companion would only vanish from his ship within the next few days, and for what purpose could Eva bid herself useful to him? If that was the case, then she'd be the next bargaining tool in line. The Captain smirked at the coward, placing his cup down the table and chuckling loudly while at it. He leaned himself closer to Rumpelstiltskin with a clear smile on his face.

"Why don't we finish the deal here instead?" Captain Hook asked.

The evident features of Rumpelstiltskin's face darkened immensely. His almost fully dark eyes resembled an endless black pit, and the orbs outwardly bore straight through the pirate; the inauspicious act divulged the notion of Rumpelstiltskin truly living up to his title - The Dark One. And of what was once an afraid, young father became the terrifying beast that many knew present day. The Captain hardened his eyes.

"Don't push me, _dearie._" Rumpel growled.

"And why not," Captain Hook challenged eagerly. "the girl is worthless to me and it'd be a small achievement to use her in a trade."

"Three days," said Rumpelstiltskin. "I'll give you three days and on the third and final day, the deal will be done."

"Three days for what?"

"For you to say your goodbyes, of course."

* * *

Eva strolled herself out of the restaurant, leaving the large and heavy door behind her to swing however it pleased, but unfortunately, Dock was the poor victim of the silly move. The loud thump could instantly be heard as Eva waited for the crew-members to come out, turning around to witness the uncanny expression stamped on Dock's face before settling herself back on the dusty path through the forest.

"I'm so stuffed." Eva groaned as she, Cube, and Dock headed out of the restaurant. After two chicken legs, a large bowl of soup, and four slices of oven-baked bread, Eva could truly say that she was full. Completely full.

"You barely had anything, Eva!" Cube replied hastily, shutting the door in front of Dock's face for the second time that day. Eva and Cube could hear a loud _thud _behind them, assuming that the dreamy crew-member had been successfully hit by the wooden entry. The poor man came out all scruffy, pausing to fix his thick eye-glasses and grey hat before continuing his path like the aching ordeal had never occurred in the first place. _Poor Dock. I hope this doesn't happen too often for him._

"Gee, Cube," Dock said, unaffected. He quickly caught up with the pair. "I guess you'll be paying the next bill we get later then."

"I never agreed to do that!" The latter complained.

"Well, you just did."

Dock unhappily strolled into the front of the line, angry about the door incident. '_He does get mad'_, Eva thought. She hadn't seen him this miserable since the day she boarded the ship.

"Come on, Dock. I don't have enough for another meal."

"Eva," Dock said, freed from all earlier events. "did you like the restaurant?"

"It was terrific." The girl replied, a little more energetic than how she had wanted to sound. Eva walked in between Dock and Cube, and the trio had a humorous conversation. Cube said something, and she laughed, looking left and right at the two crew-members and pushing her brown hair away from her face. Her hair was freely out and Eva made a mental note to get her hair done or at least trimmed a bit.

The rustling of leaves startled everyone, sending up a signal that something sinister was about to happen. Cube peered cautiously around the surroundings, clutching his axe in case of an ambush and Dock stood still, listening to the environment closely. They stayed in their given positions until all was calm, and the three continued on their way to the next town.

The forest around them was covered by the seemingly peaceful glow of the orange sky filled with tints of a light peach and red. The shadows of the naked trees could still be seen, yet Eva couldn't help but feel like the shadows were moving all around them, darting from tree to tree and bush to bush. She shook her head abruptly, opening her eyes a few times to enhance her vision. It was only hallucinations from her mind playing tricks on her, she made herself believe. It could only be that, or what else? '_I'm not seeing things. It can't be real.'_

"Eva, are you okay?" Dock questioned, catching up to walk beside her. It seemed that he had recovered from the door incident.

"I'm fine. I just thought that I saw some shadows moving." She reassured herself, brushing some of her hair behind her ears and shoving her hands into the outer pockets of her green coat. '_Only tricks...'_

"If I had heard it correctly, there had been rumors of an outer force living within these forests," Cube began, carrying a large pile of wooden logs he had found earlier on the path. "and many think that it's the Queen doing all of the weird tricks, driving people insane to the point where they're not longer seen around town anymore. Strange, huh?"

_'I doubt the Queen would be doing this.'_

"You know, I don't think the Queen would be the one responsible for doing all of this, Cube. She's... She's evil, but there has to be another person or people corrupting the forest. Do you really think that a woman like her would actually do this?" Eva walked faster to keep up with the crew-member.

"Absolutely, Eva. You don't know what she's capable of." Cube scoffed, lifting his wood higher into the air.

"Then tell me."

"He can't," Dock suddenly intervened, saddening as he kept his eyes on the ground below. "There's no way to explain it."

"But—"

"We're heading into that town over there. The Captain should have already arrived earlier, and the others should have scattered safely around the area. I'm sure some of them are at the bar." Cube stated.

But he was right. The twinkling town lights could be seen a distance away from where they were, and the townspeople were all about, roaming through the town and sometimes stopping to talk to each other. It wasn't long before they had arrived into town, where some greeted them with kind eyes and small waves. The dim sky above everything was growing darker and darker by the hour, yet the town still found a way to make it as bright as the morning. Foot after foot after foot walking through soon became tired, and Cube had finally stopped to point to a yellow house filled with laughter and loud chatter.

The three made their way into the house - the bar - and Eva glanced at Captain Hook, who was happily talking to members of his crew. He looked more than content, and it was somewhat strange. Had he done something that was enough to make him so..._happy_?

"Cap'n!" Cube shouted loudly, garnering the attention of the Captain and several curious eyes.

"Dock, Cube, Eva, come join us," Hook called with his hands moving for them to come forth. "there's enough rum to go around to everyone."

Eva planted herself on the bench beside the table, staring at the scene in front of her. "What are you all doing here anyway?"

"Having excellent fun, Eva," The Captain spoke. "come join us!"

"The Cap's usually like this whenever he made himself a good deal." said a round man, another crew-member. He held a mug of rum, and was tastefully chugging it down every few minutes down his throat.

"Eva, this is Snob," Dock cheered, sitting down to wrap an arm around his friend. "he's another one of us!"

Everyone gathered around the Captain lightly as he began telling his usual tales of his adventures, how he traveled all across the land searching or trading mystical items or artifacts. And before they knew it, it was an hour away from midnight, where many peculiar events took place, like that one story of a young beautiful ball girl who had mysteriously vanished after leaving the King's castle when the clock tower's hands struck midnight. Eva thought about the clock tower, not paying much attention to the crew's joyful ratter.

"Men, we had our fun at this bar, but now it is time to go." Hook said.

"Really? So soon too!" said Cube

"We were having a great time." a crew-member yelled out, sipping the last of his drink before setting it back down.

"And with that, we will have more times like this within the near future."

"Come now, we have to go."

"Oh, all right." cried Snob.

* * *

The strong waves of the sea crashed rapidly onto the shore as the entire crew made their way across the sandy beach. The dense air was combined with the heavy gusts of wind and the familiar scent of the salty breeze, but this wasn't a breeze. Eva climbed aboard the ship with the help of Dock as her hair flew in all directions from the wind, flowing and landing in her face and then back into the open air. It was deep into the night and the roaring sound of the sea was the most distinctive thing that could be heard.

Eva headed into a nearby cabin, shutting the door behind her before the wind could pull it back open. She looked around the room, noticing that she was the only one inside. A table was placed in the middle of the room with chairs and benches around it, much like the one Eva had seen at the bar from earlier before. She strolled around until a woman came out of the kitchen from the room next door, using a dishcloth to dry her hands.

"Who are you?" The woman demanded, stalking forward to hold a knife against Eva's throat.

"My name is Eva. I'm no threat!"

"You sure don't look like it," The woman said as she lower her weapon, allowing Eva to take a breath of air. "why are you here?"

_'Why am I here?'_

"I'm a companion," Eva responded nervously, "who are you?"

"The name's Milah. Take a seat here, Eva." Milah sat down on a rusty-brown chair, glancing only for a second out the window to stare at the harsh weather hitting the ship. Her dark hair had decorative beads hanging from some strands, and her attire was much like the Captain's - dark and pirate-like. She waited patiently for Eva to sit down, and the girl did.

"I'm the chef here on the ship." Milah started, getting up to grab a ripe apple from the fruit basket. She tossed it over to Eva and the girl examined the delicious piece. The apple was round and was considerably fitted nicely in Eva's hand. It was like the few apple trees growing near the Queen's castle; the dark fruits hung high in the branches with their blood-red color.

The color of pain.

_When the clock tower strikes, something always happens._

* * *

**Author's Note: **As I'm sitting here reading through the large amount of feedback, I can't express how much I love you all. Thank you, every one of you for so dearly taking the time to review, alert, favourite, etc. It almost sounds like I'm making a goodbye message here! *ahem* Away from that, it took me such a while to go through to this chapter. I even go bored with some scenes and deleted them. This and hopefully all the other future deletions will be kept in a deleted scenes chapter, which I will post either in between the story as a bonus or at the end.

I bid all of my readers a happy week. It's was pretty gloomy around my area ever since a hurricane came over and...well...you know the rest.

**Special thanks to blackopalz21 for being my beta**

**Special thanks to TheCynicalCrocodile for being my beta** (Now signing on to beta entire story with opalz)


	4. Mysterious Void

**Disclaimer:** Once Upon a Time does not belong to me nor do the characters. However, I do own any original characters (OC's) that come along in this story.

* * *

"For every dark night, there's a brighter day."  
-Tupac Shakur

**Mysterious Void**

"This ship has a chef? Since when do ships have that?" Eva asked, waving her hands in the air out of frustration. In the last few minutes, she had almost been killed by Milah, who was undoubtedly the chef of the ship. She stared at the fellow brunette in front of her, awaiting for a response. Meanwhile, the roar of the outside ocean waves were growing louder, and the night was becoming deeper. The tinge of saltiness could be smelt n the room through the small cracks of the wood that covered the windows, and drops of water leaked onto the floor, eventually being absorbed by it.

"Of course, it does! But more importantly, you look tarnished, Eva!" Exclaimed Milah as she got up, and shifted through the dusty cabinets. The older woman pulled out a loaf of bread that looked to have over-exceeded its expiration date. Its color was a dirty brown and mold covered the top and bottom parts while pesky flies flew around in wary alarm of the 'thief'. _I am not eating that no matter what_, Eva thought harshly to herself.

Eva cringed in sight of the perished food; her lips curling downwards in disgust. Milah seemed to have noticed this reaction. She tossed the loaf of bread away to a corner, and the flies and mice made their expected appearances, feasting on the generous find.

"Tell me, Eva. You haven't seen a certain Rumpelstiltskin around, have you now?"

"I have...The other day, I spotted him on the ship's deck. But he later left without even mentioning why he was there in the first place. Why is he of importance to you?" Eva folded her arms loosely on the table as the lighted white candle on the table flickered soundly several times, leaving little crackling noises behind with every flicker. She stared intently at the orange-yellow flame until Milah suddenly cleared her throat.

"Before...before he was known as to what he is today, The Dark One, he was my husband. Right now, I considered us to be apart but no matter, I am still his wife. It has been - I am not even sure how long, but it has been years since I have last seen him. Unfortunately, I have come to know that he thinks I am no longer alive, and that's why I am asking you about him, Eva. How is he? Does he look okay?" Eva didn't know how to respond to the surprising information. She had always though that everyone in the world had _some_ amount of human in them, but Rumpelstiltskin - she couldn't imagine him as a human being more so a human being with a _wife _and possibly—

"We had a son together too."

_There's the answer that question._

After choking up on her words, Eva finally responded. "Well," She began, pausing to think of how to continue. Instead of giving her the details, Eva chose the best way to sum things up. "he doesn't exactly look human anymore, Milah."

"I thought so." Milah said dimly, drooping her eyes onto the liquid pool of wax that had formed around the wick of the candle. "You're probably wondering why I had chosen this life." She squeezed her right hand together into a tight fist, but loosened it again as her eyes settled calmly onto Eva's.

"I fell in love with him, Eva." The woman said, a gentle smile to her lips.

"You fell in love with who?"

"The Captain, but he already knows that. He doesn't share the same feelings with me as I do with him, but ever since giving him and his crew a taste of my cooking, I've been the chef, the only chef, on the ship. Poor men mainly ate pickles before I got here too! Sad, isn't?" _It's nothing compared to what I've been through. _Eva reminisced on her old days. She had remembered it all — the conditions, the severity, the longing, and the _scars_. She bit her lip fiercely, almost aiming to draw blood.

"What about your son? Whatever happened to him?" Eva questioned. The unexpected crack of thunder alarmed her, inflicting feelings of fear and angst through Eva's veins. The panels covering the windows shook loudly, and the strong wind rocked the boat vigorously as more cold water seeped into the kitchen. Milah hurriedly took notice of the water, and went into another room. She later returned with a hammer and a pile of wood, nailing the pieces onto the previous boards to reduce the amount of leaks entering the dining area. Eva then realized that Milah had never answered her question. _Maybe if I asked at another time._

"It seems that we'll be sleeping in here for the night." And with that, she went over and blew out the candle.

* * *

The morning after, Eva awoke to the sound of chirping birds and the soft waves of the ocean. She stretched out her arms widely, finally opening her eyes to look at the faded brown ceiling on top of her. She had fallen asleep around the kitchen, and Milah had done the same. Eva turned left, recognizing that Milah was still asleep. She leaned forward, sighing as she thought about the night before. To think that someone like Rumpelstiltskin was once probably an innocent young man who just wanted the best for his wife and son somewhat scared Eva. How someone could change just like that was a mystery, and it was one she did not want to unravel.

Slowly but surely, Eva crawled out of her spot into the main dining room. She walked over to the wooden door and turned the knob cautiously. The door made a soft click, revealing busy crew-members wandering the ship and the gorgeous scenery of the outdoor ocean. Seagulls flew in circles a few distances away from the ship, and the white outline of their bodies could easily be seen. She later spotted Dock, and casually went over to him.

An hour later, Eva found herself helping Dock mop the deck. Dock unfortunately had originally refused her help a couple of times, stating that it was his work and she didn't need to do it, but Eva insisted. Ever since the ship continued to sail the seas, she had needed something to keep her mind occupied. Dock and Cube had been giving her odd looks ever since the day she had first arrived, wondering what reason why their Captain had bought Eva out of slavery. Despite the odd looks, the two crew members had remained friends with her. Today was one of those days where Dock was thinking as to reasons why Captain bought her. Dock leaned against his mop and muttered to himself, "Now why would Cap'n buy you?"

"What?" Eva said, continuing to mop the wooden floor of the ship, "Did you say something, Dock?"

Dock cursed to himself for the slight slip of the tongue. Even if she hadn't heard what he had said. "It was nothing." He quickly lied, "Just remembering the good ol' days when I had first earned my sea legs."

"Oh," Eva giggled lightly, her green eyes filled with curiosity. "I wonder how on earth that happened."

"I remember it like it was yesterday." Dock started. And indeed he did. Earning his sea legs was an important moment for a sailor. "I just turned fifteen. 'Round that time, you were considered as a man; though in your case, you would be already considered as a woman." The man looked distant, as if he was in a far-off land. "I had just started to sail and was already part of a crew. A storm was brewing around the time and we were a few hundred meters or so away from the docks. I could almost picture it right here and now. The sky got darker. The waves were roaring. The wind was getting harsher by the second, and we had to go half-sail instead of full sail. Rain poured down from the sky so hard that it hurt! And on top of everything else, we were being attacked by a band of pirates wanting to take our ship."

"Well, what did you do?" asked Eva.

Dock smiled at her, "Me? Well, I just grabbed a sword that was lying on the ground and starting attacking the annoying nuisances. Strange enough, the storm also helped 'cause it led a few pirates overboard, but nonetheless, some of us manned the cannons and some raided the other pirates' ship. We saw them scampering away on their little ship going to their mothers crying their hearts out with us having their little treasures," the short crew member smiled at the memory, remembering how he fought like a man despite his lack of swordplay that day. "Good times they were."

"That reminds me then," Eva laughed, smiling brightly. "How did you meet Captain Hook?"

"It was a few years ago." Dock replied, "I was in a tavern that day counting the items that I had gained and lost over the years. Cube was there with me drinking his third glass of rum, and was heavily drunk. I was staring into space and Cube passed out after his fifth glass when Captain sat in front of us and asked the waitress for a beer. We started chatting, eventually coming up to the part of our sailing experiences and asked if we could come with him and be a part of his crew. I obliged for the both of us, knowin' he would do it too, if only he hadn't pass out with all that rum. And now, here we are, examining the masts, manning the cannons and swivel guns when need be, and repairing the sails if the situation calls for it. It's the usual maintenance on the ship and followin' the Captain's orders."

"Did you leave anyone behind when you first met Hook?" She asked.

Dock continued mopping, "No," he said, "My first love is the sea, and always will be until my very last breath."

_What an…interesting life,_ Eva thought as she recalled the story. _I wonder what life I would've had if I was like Dock—_Her thoughts were interrupted by the Captain, himself; the man entering the scene, greeting most of his crew.

"Well, I'll be," said Dock, rubbing his black beard. "The Captain looks extra happy today!"

Eva chuckled at his comment and watched as the Captain gave orders out to the entire crew. She picked up the two mops and buckets and went over to say 'hello' to Captain Hook.

"Captain, you never told me that the ship had a chef on it! In particular, Milah." She promptly placed the cleaning items in one corner, and proudly stood up to talk to the Captain.

Captain Hook furrowed his eyebrows and gave her a confused look, "Really? No one told you we had a chef?" He asked her.

Apparently not.

* * *

**Author's Note:** First of all, I am so sorry this update is late. Originally, I had finished this chapter ages ago, but my betas have been so busy lately. Future updates may also take a while as well.

**Special thanks to blackopalz21 for being my beta**

**Special thanks to TheCynicalCrocodile for being my beta**


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